Can Of Worms
by PhantomInvader
Summary: Sequel to SC. When Riley enters Casper High as a freshman and a ghost attack results in her learning Danny's secret, she swears not to tell. Danny knows Riley works very hard to keep her promises, but exactly how good is she at keeping secrets? Slight DxS
1. Chapter 1

**So yeah. I went and made a sequel. The idea would not leave my head.**

**I promise after this Riley's strictly a background character/plot device/comic relief.**

**Disclaimer: Danny Phantom is NOT MINE. Riley is, though.  
**

**--Phanny**

**

* * *

**_Can of Worms: _ _a complex, troublesome situation arising when a decision or action produces considerable subsequent problems..._

**

* * *

**Sixteen-year-old Danny Fenton walked through the halls of Casper High on his first day of school as a junior. He was quite obviously irked at the fact that he had to suffer through another year before next summer, and annoyed that he had somehow been cursed with an assignment of showing one new freshman around the school against his will.

"What's that room?" Riley Matthews hadn't stopped asking inane questions since she'd arrived at the school ten minutes before. The now fourteen-year-old freshman hadn't changed since Danny had first met her, though maybe she had an he just couldn't tell because she hadn't left him or his friends alone all summer. Admittedly, he'd gotten used to her, but now he had to spend every day with her around him until he graduated…or died.

Riley also rode his bus. He could hardly contain his joy.

"That'd be the boy's bathroom," Danny told her, ushering her along, "let's just find your locker before class, okay?"

"Kay!" Riley grinned from ear to ear, "it's number…412."

Danny sighed in relief. That locker wasn't too close to _his_…

…but it _was _pretty close to Tucker's.

Tucker wasn't as annoyed by Riley as Danny and Sam were. Both of them were very chatty, and when Danny and Sam eventually stopped listening, Riley would hang on Tucker's every word when he talked about his technology--Tucker had been the younger girl's godsend when she managed to fill her father's computer with more viruses than even _Tucker_ had ever witnessed on _one _machine. Neither member of the trio had dared to ask what she was _doing_ with the computer that caused it to become infected.

As Danny guided Riley to her new locker, Sam came up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder and making him jump.

"Don't _do _that!" Danny panted when he saw Sam. Riley snickered at seeing an older boy start at one simple tap on the shoulder, and Danny glared at her, "oh, shut up."

Sam felt a little guilty, though. Little tricks like that often went from 'harmless fun' to 'surprise ghost attack from behind' in Danny's head, nowadays.

"So, you guys seen Tucker anywhere?" Sam asked when Danny had finally stopped giving her his famous 'death glare' (which didn't phase Sam much, seeing as she had a _much _more effective one in _her_ arsenal), "he called me and said he'd be here but I don't see him."

"He's in the cafeteria!" Riley spoke up from behind Danny, "they have that whole "freshman welcome breakfast" thing and I saw him in there but I didn't say anything because I didn't want to go in because all those freshman are really annoying. And I already ate."

Danny snorted at Riley's thoughts on her fellow freshmen, but recovered and looked at Sam. "Well, there's your answer. You should've known--he goes every year."

"And they kick him out every year, so…" Sam trailed off with a smirk as a very disgruntled Tucker Foley walked towards his locker, only to see his friends already his destination and brighten up.

"No luck?" Danny asked, "Tuck, it's a "freshman" breakfast."

"But it is the _only _time of year where the lunch ladies bring out the _good_ food," Tucker rolled his eyes, "I mean, the other food is okay, but _that stuff _is there to trick the freshman into thinking that this is a decent school!"

"_I _think it's a decent school," Riley said.

"You don't count," Tucker told her, "you already know people here, you won't be drawn in by eggs and waffles, your dad won't send you to Elmerton Academy…"

"Because that school is for gifted kids," Danny muttered, "not people who can't open the plastic wrap without taking off the _blade…_"

"Hey!" Riley rushed to defend herself, "people could've hurt themselves with that!"

"That's what you use to tear the plastic wrap!"

"Whatever," Riley said, doing her usual thing of ending an argument quickly because she knew she was going to lose. "Show me how to open this thing." She pointed to her locker.

"Use the combination," Danny told her. Riley stared at him blankly. "You do know how to use a combination lock, don't you?"

Riley shook her head, her flyaway hair shaking with it and eventually ending up in her face when she stopped.

"Fine," Danny sighed, "give me the combination."

Riley stared at him, her pale green eyes blank.

"You don't even have the combination?!"

Of course, that was when the bell chose to ring.

* * *

"Okay, welcome to the new season of "name that food," ladies and gentlemen," Riley announced as she sat with Danny, Sam and Tucker in the Casper High cafeteria.

Since Danny and his friends were is sophomore year, the school had decided to change the lunch schedules. Now instead of separate lunches for each grade, everyone went to lunch at the exact same time. What a fantastic idea.

"Meet our first mystery dish--greenish-brownish-odd smelling-chunky-vegetable-stuff. Any guesses of the identity?"

"We stopped trying to figure out what that was in ninth grade," Sam sighed in disgust, "even _I _won't eat that."

"Good," Riley nodded, "looks like someone already did."

"I'd just slide it over to the end of the table and hope someone knocks it over," Tucker shrugged, and Riley did so.

After many guesses as to what was on her lunch tray Riley concluded that she should just bring her own lunch from now on.

All four heads turned as a girl let out a scream. Riley knew that sort of scream--a ghost! On the first day of school!

'…_Awesome!' _Was Riley's only thought. Her next period was math, maybe she'd get to miss it _and _see Danny Phantom at the same time! Danny Phantom always came to the rescue. He was a superhero!

Riley just hoped that _she _wouldn't be the one whom he had to save this time.

Riley realized a moment later that she had lost sight of Danny, Sam and Tucker. Why did they always run away when a ghost attacked?

Riley thought for a minute, _'because there's a ghost attacking. Duh.' _She told herself, _'then…maybe I should run too.'_

When Riley tried to run, the lunchroom shook beneath her feet and she fell, looking up and seeing the horrendous ghost of a…

…Frog?

"Hey!" Riley pouted, "frogs aren't scary!"

The frog was a sickly purple color, and its croak sounded more like a roar. Riley dissected a frog once, and she knew that they didn't usually have such sharp teeth or three eyes, and she _definitely _knew that they weren't supposed to be the size of an SUV.

Maybe frogs were a _little_ scary.

Riley tried to get up and run, but the monster's long tongue lashed out and she barely ducked in time to dodge it, causing it to hit the wall behind her. As the frog pulled its tongue back, Riley was showered with broken plaster and tile as the tongue pulled most of the wall away with it.

Suddenly, something black and white came at her quickly, lifting her up in the air. Riley closed her eyes in fear, wondering who her attacker was until she heard him speak.

"Why is it _always _you?" Danny Phantom said dryly, "can you just stay out of trouble for just one whole weekor something?"

Riley looked down and noticed that the rest of the people in the lunchroom had escaped, and that she was the only one who had stayed.

"I laugh in the face of danger…?" Riley offered, and when Phantom raised an eyebrow she sighed, "just get me out of here, please? I promise I'll be good next time!"

"Why don't you try not letting there _be _a next time? When I put you down, _run!_"

When Danny Phantom set Riley down near the door, she did just as he said, no matter how much she wanted to watch the fight.

However, Riley didn't leave the school, instead hiding behind one of the trashcans in the hall and waiting. She was too scared to run any farther, and her legs felt numb.

All that waiting did her good, as she was perfectly safe from the commotion in the lunchroom until she heard the voices of Sam and Tucker join much of the yelling going on. After a moment, there was silence and Riley crossed her fingers. She hoped Sam and Tucker were okay, and that Danny was safe wherever he was.

When Sam and Tucker exited the lunchroom with a floating Danny Phantom, Riley let out a quiet sigh of relief before her eyes widened in shock.

A flash of light had blinded her, and she blinked several times, disbelieving. Danny Fenton stood next to his friends right in the spot where Danny _Phantom _had stood a moment before.

Danny and his friends went rigid in fear and surprise when Riley came out from her hiding place excitedly.

"Whoa, cool!" Riley pointed at Danny, "do the flashy Phantom thing again! I wanna see!"

Danny could only stare blankly at the young girl.

'_Oh…this isn't good.'_

_

* * *

_**It gets worse, too. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Short short short.**

**Last time I checked this story had one or two votes in the poll, but the first half of this chapter was done MONTHS ago, so I decided to get my ass in gear in finish the rest.**

**I'm surprised I haven't got anyone crying Sue yet...it's already the sequel.**

**-Phanny**

**

* * *

**'_Oh crap…'_

"Seriously, do it again!"

'_She _knows…'

"Tell me that wasn't a dream, dude!"

'_This is BAD…!'_

"Danny…? You in there?" Riley waved her hand in front of Danny's face.

The blue-eyed boy cringed when he looked at Riley, closing his eyes and willing the last two minutes of his life to be some kind of dream. The biggest, most annoying blabbermouth he knew now knew his secret - he was so screwed!

"Listen, Riley, you…if you could forget what you just saw, that'd be great. Can we do that?"

"No way!" Riley told him, her eyes wild with excitement, "this is the most awesome thing in the history of forever!"

"Don't _yell_," Danny said, "really, Riley, I-I need you to keep quiet."

Riley gasped and covered her mouth, "oh, right, secret, got it. I'll keep your secret."

"Riley, you are the _worst _secret keeper we know," Sam said, "you talk more than Tucker does-"

"Hey!"

"-and all we're saying is that you keep your mouth shut."

"I promise I will! You guys are superhero team, though, right?" She said in a whisper, "that's so awesome - since I know now…can I-"

"No!" Danny said, "you can't help. You'll get hurt."

"So will you guys! I bet Sam and Tucker and you get hurt all the time. Come on, you can teach me…please?"

"No."

"_Please?_"

"It's not going to work this time, Riley."

* * *

"I can't believe it worked," Tucker said glumly.

After hours of the puppy-dog eyes, whining, and all-out begging, Riley found herself in the Fentons' basement lab, looking around with wide eyes. She had never seen so much chrome since she rode in her uncle Tim's decked out semi truck when he hauled two tons of salt to Mississippi.

Of course, it'd been made annoyingly clear to her that she was in no way a part of the team. No, but she'd promised she'd shut up if they just showed her the lab, something she'd been _dying_ to see even before she found out.

"Woah," Riley said, her eyes full of awe, "your parents made all of this? Sweet! Your mom makes cookies _and_ advanced weaponry!"

"Yeah," Danny said, still unhappy, "just don't touch anything."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Riley flinch away from the Fenton crammer, muttering a quick "of course not."

Danny had no idea what he was going to do. There was no way this girl could keep a secret this big. Riley was a nice girl, sure, and he knew she meant well, but he had to face facts…she had a really big mouth and didn't use it very responsibly.

"What's this?" Riley asked, pointing to the Fenton Portal. Danny hadn't been looking, and she had gotten up pretty close.

"Get away from that!" He warned, and she backed up so quickly that she fell over backwards.

"Ouch," she groaned, "what's with the yelling, dude?"

"That's very dangerous," Danny explained, "it leads to the Ghost Zone."

"Ghost Zone…I've heard that before…"

Maybe he would be safe, Danny thought, Riley obviously was pretty forgetful if she couldn't remember a particularly important even from the year before.

"Remember when Skulker kidnapped you? _That _Ghost Zone."

"Ohhhh…" Riley said, the memories flooding back. She shuddered, "creepy."

After a few moments of Riley continuing to look around and the others watching her like a hawk to make sure she didn't hurt herself with any of the weapons in the lab.

"So how'd ya do it?" Riley finally asked, "get all superhero-y, I mean."

Danny sighed. He really didn't want to tell this story, especially not to someone whom he was almost certain wouldn't understand a word of it.

But Danny, being the brave soldier he was, told the story as best he could (he hadn't really had to tell it too often, only to Jazz after he found out she knew), and Riley (for once!) sat in silence and listened intently. After he finished, she still didn't speak.

"So…Sam was all 'I bet it's cool in there' and then you were all 'yeah' and then you went in and got zapped and stuff?"

"That's…one way to put it," Danny nodded, "Riley, you realize how important this secret is, don't you?"

The girl nodded.

"And how it has to _stay_ a secret?"

Another nod.

"So I can trust you?"

This nod was eager and serious.

Danny sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day, realizing he didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. He'd just have to trust her.

* * *

**Which may or may not be a big fat mistake. But, as of yet, there is no Fenton Memory Eraser. **

**Later.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Story resurrection...BEGIN!**

**-Phanny**

**

* * *

**Danny, having a secret identity, knew all about the importance of trust. He knew that Riley would really try, and he respected that. He really did. But…

"Honey, why on earth would we have a memory eraser ray?" Maddie Fenton raised an eyebrow at her son's inquiry. Danny averted his eyes, trying to look innocent.

"Well, you know….I thought that maybe, in your spare time, you would get bored and create something not…ghost…related…" Danny trailed off as he realized where his suggestion was going.

"We're ghost hunters, Danny, not mad scientists," Maddie continued, and as she saw her son begin to open his mouth to retort, she added, "I don't care what that Mrs. Mercer next door thinks. If she has a problem she can take it up with the neighborhood watch head."

Danny paused, "but…that's you." He paled at his mother's rather devious grin.

"Anyway, why would you need something like that in the first place?" Jack Fenton finally cut in, "did something happen?"

"Ah, no…" Danny cleared his throat. This conversation was going nowhere - he had to get out ASAP. "Well, thanks anyway. But, you know, if you're not too busy and you get in that 'making up a blue print' mood, well…yeah. Later!"

Danny left both of his parents curious and dumbstruck. What on earth was their son up to now…?

* * *

"No, no, you know what? I don't know why I even _asked_ you! If you don't want to help me with my homework, _fine_! I don _not_ need _your_ advice on the Spanish language. You are from _Nebraska_ - I'll call you back when I need advice about _**corn**_!" Danny watched in dismay as Riley tried to quickly wrap up her phone conversation, "yeah? Well so are you! I've got a friend here _patiently_ waiting for you to hang up and give me my time back! Oh yeah? _Fine_! I love you too aunt Tabbi - see you at Thanksgiving!"

There was a long stretch of silence before Danny could think of anything to say. He had only gone to Riley's house to talk to her again, he never intended to eavesdrop on what seemed like a phone call equivalent to Jerry Springer.

"Uhm…family troubles?" He asked.

"Oh, no, that's aunt Tabitha - she calls every week, she talks and talks and _talks_ - all the time. Sometimes my dad won't even answer her calls! Good thing we got caller ID. She never shuts up! Don't you just hate people like that?"

Danny didn't feel comfortable answering.

Riley brushed her brown hair behind her ear, "I know why you're here and I just gotta say…dude, it's been a _day_. Just a day. I won't spill the biggest secret in the entire history of secrets in just _one day_. I'm sensing a lack of trust, here."

Danny sighed, "you're right. I'm sorry. You promised, and I should accept that, but…ugh, let's see…remember that time you found the sweet potato chip shaped like ZZ Top?" Riley nodded excitedly. "Well, this is even more important than that. Listen, I've only known you for a year - and even though you've gone to great lengths to tell me _every single thing _about you, I really don't know you that well. You can see why I worry, right?"

Riley sat down on the couch and sank into it, sighing, "yeah, I know. I know I'm sort of a messed up person, but I am seriously going to do my best - no, better than my best -to keep the secret." She frowned and looked at him pitifully out of the corner of her eye, "even though you guys refuse to let me be a part of your super-cool team thing-"

"Riley, I can't even trust you with a sparkler, okay?"

"-I promise to be good. Seriously."

Danny felt slightly reassured when she finished. Maybe it was her sad, sincere "please believe me" look, or the fact that she really seemed to know what kind of knowledge she had. He didn't know.

Riley almost instantly broke the sentimental air around them.

"Are you sure you don't want to see my collection of Barbie dolls that I melted under a magnifying glass when I was ten?"

Danny was then reminded at just how disturbed the girl was, and replied, "uhm, no. I…I really, really don't."

"Yeah, no one ever does."

* * *

**Not a lot going on in this chapter. Don't know how long it'll take me to update this one. I should probably figure out an order in which I update my stories. This story is actually in SECOND place on the poll I put up (which will be BACK UP on my profile in a sec), which I can't believe, because OC fics aren't exactly a fan favorite. Then again, I've written around, what, ten OC's for several different fandoms? A few have their own stories.**

**Wow Phanny you're a freak when it comes to OC's. It's just that so many well-rounded ones are overlooked because of the Mary Sues that outnumber them. OC AVENGER AWAY.**

**/rant :P**

**Riley is grateful for your love.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yeah. So. Getting into this again.**

**-Phanny**

**

* * *

**Riley's head was swimming when she returned to school. She was just too distracted - the boy who let her call him her friend was a superhero! How cool was that? Oh, if she knew any adjectives that could describe how cool it was….she would be getting an A in English!

Riley struggled to remember her locker combination - she knew one of the biggest secrets_ ever_, who had room in their mind for combinations? She was sure she had the right one, but her locker wasn't opening. She just continued to pull at it, instead of asking for help like she probably should have. It had to open sometime, and if she pulled hard enough-

"_Ow_!" Her locker flung open, and she stepped back just in time, but a poor boy walking along the hallway received a face full of metal as a result and fell backwards.

"Oh my god, I am so. Sorry," Riley panicked, looking down at the scruffy blond boy rubbing his sore nose on the ground. He looked back up at her, pushing his glasses back up as they had been hanging askew on his face earlier. "Are you okay? Oh, I should have been attention I'm such a klutz I'm so sorry did I break your nose or something I'll find a way to pay for it if I did I-"

"It's fine, it's fine," the boy said, "you could help me up, though." Riley blanched and quickly held out her hand to help him off of the floor. He smiled a nervous smile and laughed, and Riley noticed that he snorted when he did, "heh, see? Glasses aren't broken - I _would_ have made you pay for _those_. Funny, I thought being a Freshman would lead me getting shoved _into_ lockers, but I guess a girl hitting me in the face with one is fine, too."

"Again, I am totally sorry, I just…I got a lot on my mind today," Riley looked the boy over again - he wasn't bleeding, but she didn't feel any less guilty, "uhm, I'm-"

"Riley," the boy finished for her, and her eyes widened a bit, "I'm in your English class. I'm Xander. And seriously, I'm fine. You can stop freaking out."

Riley nodded and took a deep breath. She'd only been in school for a week, how did she not know this kid was in her class? She should totally remember a name like Xander - even she had to admit that that was seriously cool.

"Right, right, well-" The bell rang at that moment, and Riley winced, "shoot, uhm, lemme get my books from my homicidal locker and then I'd better go."

"Were you listening? We have English together - I'll go with you," Xander said, and Riley raised an eyebrow, "what? A guy can't escort a lady to class?"

"Lady? I wouldn't call myself a lady," Riley sighed.

"Right, right, lady is my nerdy-old-fashioned charm word. Something modern work better, shawty?"

Okay, _that_ made her snort too.

* * *

Riley wasn't immune to common girl things - sometimes she tried to put on make up, even though she always ended up looking like a sad clown hooker. She tried to dress in a girly way, but she never seemed to get it right. She certainly wasn't immune to crushes.

Riley had eventually gotten over her crush on Danny once she realized that he was - whether he and Sam wanted to admit it or not - taken. A lot of the high school boys seemed to be either more mature than her (which wasn't hard to do) or even less mature than she remembered they were in middle school. The only boy so far who had been the slightest bit nice to her was Xander, but…and maybe this was a teeny bit superficial, he was one of the most stereotypically geeky looking guys she had ever met. Besides Tucker, and even he some sort of coolness deep, deep down.

'_Okay, I am definitely swimming in the shallow end of the pool in that respect - Sam would be so disappointed…' _Riley thought as she tapped her pencil on her still blank sheet of 'notes.' Mr. Lancer was lecturing on the time period in which Romeo and Juliet was written - they needed to understand it before they read the play, he said. Riley was too bust being shallow again, as she glanced at Seth Alva out of the corner of her eye every few seconds.

Riley didn't know what it was about him. He didn't really seem to be particularly smart, friendly, or taented, or…he didn't even seem to have any outstanding traits at all. But he was just. So. Cute. Every girl knew it.

"Ms. Matthews, I hope you haven't been taking lessons from Mr. Fenton in slacking off in my class," Lancer's voice startled her, as did all of the other students' tittering, "also, if you could stop ogling Mr. Alva that would be wonderful."

Riley's face reddened, and she sunk so low in her chair that she nearly fell out of it. Of all the things that man could've said!

Riley could feel Seth Alva's coal black eyes boring into her, even though she refused to look at him for the rest of the period.

* * *

"My god, that had to be _the_ most embarrassing moment of my life," Riley whined at lunch. Sam had to laugh.

"You jump into the fountain at the mall and pretend to be a sea monster, and somehow being caught undressing a cute guy with your eyes trumps _that_ as embarrassing?"

"Okay, first, I was _not_ undressing him with my eyes, Sam, that's _gross_," Riley huffed, "and you know _very well _that the first one was a dare."

"I didn't think you would take it!" Tucker said from across the lunch table.

"You turn down _one_ dare and it brands you as a chicken for the rest of your life, Foley," Riley snapped, "I will not let that happen to me! Well, it could be worse, I guess my pants could've fallen down while I talked to him or something…"

Danny slammed his fist down on the table, "which one of you told her?"

Riley's eyes widened, "…you just did. Are you serious, Danny? Oh my god…oh, I feel much better now…" Riley laughed hysterically, and Sam smirked.

"You can't blame us for that one," she said. Suddenly, a wisp of blue fog came from Danny's mouth, and he frowned.

"You are so lucky you're a girl and that I have something else to do," Danny got up and hurried out of the cafeteria. It killed Riley not to go with him, but she knew how dangerous it was. She looked down at the table.

"How do you guys stand it?" She asked, "I mean, knowing that he can get hurt at any time and that there's possibly nothing you can do about it?"

"We just accept that there a lot of things that he has to do that we can't help with," Tucker said, "it was scarier at first, but he's got a good handle on things now. And so do we."

"And you guys are sure you don't need my help?" Riley asked. Sam thought for a moment.

"Riley, the idea of you handling an ecto gun scares the crap out of us, because you haven't actually shown us any sort of…responsibility? You seem to be a magnet for trouble, and, even though it doesn't seem like it sometimes when he's mad, it would kill Danny if anything happened to you. It's different with Tucker and me, because we've been with him from the beginning, but he just can't think of you as someone he needs to help him fight, just as one of the people that he wants to keep safe. You get it, right?"

Riley sighed, "I guess that makes sense." It didn't seem very fair to her, but it made sense.

* * *

**I mentioned in a chapter of Chatting to Chat that a guy for Riley would be showing up in this story. Well. There are TWO guys in here - quick, which one is it? Eh?**

**And the explanation makes a little sense, right? Danny cares, he just doesn't think Riley's Team Phantom material. **

**Disclaimer: It's not Sueish for Danny to care about her a little.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**A reasonably on-time update? Oh my stars!**

**-Phanny**

**

* * *

**Samil narrowed his red eyes as he looked into his mirror. This mirror did not give him his reflection, but a set of equally demonic eyes staring back at him angrily. Samil was not one to shrink away from even the most frightening gaze, but his father's always made a chill run down his spine.

"You have kept me waiting long enough, my son," Azazel, covered in shadow with no features visible save for his eyes, told Samil. "You told me that you would find a way out of the human realm ages ago - I am getting impatient."

Samil bared his fangs slightly, brushing his grizzled gray hair away from his eyes, "it is not easy to find a way to return to the Ghost Zone, father," he hissed, "you cannot postpone your plan for a bit longer-"

"I have had enough of your excuses!" Azazel suddenly raised his voice, causing his son to jump back, "you know very well that half-ghost boy resides in that world - stop dawdling and take what you need!"

"He is _powerful_ father, and even when I am a distance from him, he can _sense_ me. His home and portal are well-guarded - it is not as simple as you think!"

"You are my son, I have raised you to be smarter than the imbecile that I see here - if you want to rule the Ghost Zone by my side, as I promised, then you will need to cooperate. You have only shown me spineless idiocy so far just by getting yourself trapped in that realm in the first place!"

Samil narrowed his eyes and averted them from the shadowy figure that was his father. He had been running an errand for _him_ anyway, and the temporary portal that had appeared for him had closed before he could escape, and he couldn't get back into his home. His father, being a follower of Pariah Dark himself when he was active, wanted to rebuild the kingdom and rule as Pariah did - forcefully and mercilessly. Samil had been promised a position of power, but he definitely wasn't selling himself by being irresponsible enough to be trapped in the pathetic human world.

"I'm doing what I _can_," Samil murmured, "you can't expect much from the limited resources I've got. I'll take the risk and try to get close to the ghost boy, but that is _all_ I can promise you." Red energy gathered in Samil's hand and he pointed at the mirror. Azazel faded away as the mirror was tinted with red and became cloudy. "This conversation is over."

Samil wanted to hit something. He was as close to the ghost boy as he could get without being sensed too often, but obviously that wasn't enough. He would have to take a more assertive approach. Which he was sure wouldn't help him much. It was his goal to get in and out as unnoticed as possible, but obviously that didn't please Azazel. And Samil couldn't afford to disappoint his dear father any more.

* * *

"That was like the sixth time that's happened since school started," Danny groaned, "my ghost sense went off and there was nothing to show for it. You think something's up with my powers?"

"You know sometimes the ghosts of, like, class pets run around, right? Maybe a poor lab rat died over the summer and has been wandering around the school. As long as there's no real trouble going on, I think you're fine," Sam reassured him as they walked home from school.

"Maybe," Danny said, not sounding entirely convinced, "I don't like not being sure about these sorts of things, though. It never turns out well."

"If you can't see it, D, then it might not be too bad anyway. I think I saw a "R.I.P. Mr. Scrunchy" in Barker's science class."

"Who's Mr. Scrunchy?" Riley asked, and eyebrow raised.

"A lab rat," Sam grumbled, "that they somehow kept catching again and a again, even after he was released into the wild. I'll be he died an early death because no one knew how to care for the poor guy properly."

"Actually, I think Kwan stepped on him," Danny sighed.

"Ew," Riley said, "aw, poor rat. You think that's what's setting off your sense-y thing?"

"'Ghost sense,'" Danny insisted, "and I don't know. Maybe. Hopefully that's all it is."

"You have to admit, even I could give a rat the ol' one-two punch-"

"No," Danny told Riley, "I explained this. You're not getting any more involved than you already are, got it?"

Riley resisted the strong urge to stamp her foot on the sidewalk and pout. She was trying to convince him that she at least had an ounce of maturity, she told herself.

"Well, this is my house," she said sullenly, and she walked up the steps to the door, "see you tomorrow."

"See ya," all three teens replied in unison.

* * *

Riley entered the house only to find her father waiting for her with the phone to his ear.

"Ah, here she is right now," he said into the phone, almost reluctantly, and gave the device to Riley, "some boy."

Riley winced at her father's over protective tone as she took the telephone from her father. What boy would be calling her that her father didn't know?

She didn't care - and nearly fainted - when she heard Seth Alva's velvety voice on the other end of the line.

"_Riley Matthews, right? It's Seth. Seth Alva? Is this a bad time?_"

"Uh-uhm, n-no! It's…it's a great time! I mean, not great as in I have nothing better to do - I have a life, heheh, but, uhm…oh, this is about my creepy staring, isn't it? I'm sorry, I just - no restraining orders, please?" She heard a warm laugh in response.

"_No, no…it was nice to be noticed. I just called to ask…would you like to hang out sometime?_"

Riley blanched, then kept herself from squealing in delight like a little girl. She knew she should be a little curious - how did Seth get her phone number? Why was he asking her out? Why was he even talking to her at all? This was where her inner Sam came into play - she should be asking herself all of these questions, she knew it, but she was just. So. Excited.

Did she even need to care? Of course she did - the didn't mean she wanted to.

* * *

**Oh Riley. Your gullibility and boy craziness amuses us so.**


	6. Chapter 6

***pretends she's not late***

**-Phanny**

* * *

Sam Manson's ebony hair fell over her face as she lay face down on the cafeteria table. Ghost fighting was better than this. Time with her _parents_ were better than this.

Well, okay, not her parents, but still…

"And then, and then and then and then and then and then we went to the nasty burger and he carried my tray and-"

'_Danny, Tucker, please come back…'_

"-we had dinner he was so nice. Sam, you wouldn't believe how nice he was to me."

Anything was better, Sam thought, than hearing Riley gush about her date with Seth Alva. Danny and Tucker had gone off campus to get food to bring back for them to share. They had just wanted to go and eat there, but Riley was a freshman and didn't have an off-campus pass, and Danny gave into "The Face" yet again. They played rock, paper, scissors to see who would stay with Riley.

'_Dammit, Sam, never choose paper! Stop choosing paper!'_

"Sam…? Are you listening?"

"I'm trying not to…"

Riley huffed and sat down, crossing her arms and pouting, "jeez. Talk about a buzz kill."

Sam gave her a scathing glance, and Riley shivered.

"I'm sorry, Sam," she finally sighed, "I'm just…it was just so exciting! I always used to think guys were turned off by me. I dunno why, I got it in seventh grade, when I still wore glasses - I guess they made me look too smart…"

"Riley," Sam decided to choose her words carefully, "I don't think you need to worry about people thinking that."

"Aw, thanks," it took a moment for Sam's words to register in her brain, and she frowned, "hey!"

"You walked right into that one," Sam said idly, "look, I'm happy for you, okay? But I'd be a lot happier if you could just…shut up about it."

Riley frowned, "fair enough." She then looked over to see Danny and Tucker returning with bags of food, "oh my god, fries!"

Sam sighed and walked over to the boys more calmly, "I think a fly has a longer attention span than her." The sounds of the cafeteria were eventually mixed in with Tucker telling Riley that there were enough fries for everyone and that she, in fact, could _not_ have the whole bag to herself. Frankly, Sam was just glad she had stopped talking about her so-called "love."

* * *

Siobhan O'Henessy never really considered herself a happy person. She wasn't all doom-and-gloom, but there was always something that was irritating her - the tiniest things in the back of her mind. Sometimes it was the filthy ketchup dispensers in the cafeteria, sometimes it was how all of her teachers called her "See-oh-bann" no matter how many times she corrected them. This time, however, it was how freshman Seth Alva seemed to be interested in whom she believed to be one of the dumbest girls she had ever met. This decision wasn't made out of malice - she had sat next to Riley Matthews in seventh grade Spanish, where Siobhan had witnessed her answer an entire quiz with a drawing of a pair of maracas.

Siobhan had sworn that once she entered high school, she would be popular. She would be popular if it killed her. Even if her quest for popularity ended in a stress-related death, it would definitely ensure a much bigger funeral attendance. She decided to ignore how creepy that was.

The point was, if she wanted to be popular, she _had_ to have a boyfriend. She had to have a cute one, too. She would have Seth Alva, but Matthews had to go.

* * *

Despite his lack of detention, Danny stayed after school. His ghost sense had been going off _all day_, and he was going to go _insane_ if he didn't find the cause. He was invisible, so as not to be caught, but he was going to look in every single freaking crevice for this thing, even if it _was_ a dead rat.

As he got close to Lancer's classroom, his ghost sense went off. Cautiously, he phased inside, making no sound. The room was full of kids - Lancer had to do detention today.

"You all should know the rules by now: no chewing gum, no tapping on the desk, no talking, no texting, do not do anything that might make this even less bearable for everyone involved," Lancer continued to speak while he organized a pile of books on his desk, "if you break those rules, you get another day of detention, and if you break the rules again, it's just a sad, sad cycle of punishment that I'm sure _none _of you want to go through."

Danny wasn't sure any of them had heard - he could see at least seven out of ten kids were asleep already.

For some reason, Danny's eyes were drawn to a pale (even paler than Sam, almost sickly looking), red-haired boy in the very back. His green eyes were focused on the clock, and Danny's ghost sense went off again almost as a result of just glancing at him. He blinked, and when he looked up again, he struggled not to gasp. The kid was staring right at him.

Danny checked to make sure he was still invisible, and he was. Something in the room was making his skin crawl, so he exited hastily. He could've sworn the kid's eyes followed him as he left.

* * *

**Siobhan = "Sha-VAWN."**

**Yeah, she's kind of creepy to write, but she's based off of a girl I know (and wish I didn't).**


	7. Chapter 7

**Warnings for a little swearing, a cat-fight, and Riley's use of "ginger" as an insult.**

**I have nothing against redheads.**

**Also the beginning of this chapter will probably make you hungry.  
**

**-Phanny**

* * *

Danny stared in awe at his kitchen. Cakes of all sizes and shapes covered every inch of counter space, sprinkles littered the remaining area, and a tub of icing lay topside down on the ground, the pink goo seeping into the grout between the tile. Cupcakes were stacked near the microwave, tiny little lollipops made of cake were scattered about the kitchen, and Danny could distinctly smell cookies baking in the oven.

What in the world…?

"DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!" Danny jerked his hand away from one of the cupcakes he had been examining. He looked over to the source of the shout - an icing-stained, flour-coated, and rather frazzled-looking Riley Matthews was standing at the center island of his kitchen, her hands covered in cake batter.

"Okay…" Danny backed up a little bit, "what are you doing in my house?"

"Baking," she said roughly, stirring the batter in the bowl in front of her, "I bake when I'm nervous."

"_How did you get in here_?"

Riley grunted, and continued, "'oh gee Riley, whatever are you nervous about?'" she tried in vain to imitate his voice, "well, Danny, Seth Alva asked me out again and I'm nervous because I really like him he's so cute and I don't want to mess this up I've never had a first date let alone a second and I-"

"Seriously, does my mom keep letting you in or something?"

"-don't know what to do does this mean anything you're a guy so you must know does he like me or is he just stringing me along I don't know STOP LOOKING AT THE CAKES DANNY AND LISTEN TO ME!"

"Tell me why you're baking in my house!" Danny countered.

"My kitchen is full and yeah, your mom let me in," Riley said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"So…why are you yelling at me again?"

"_Because. _You're a guy, do you know if Seth likes me?"

Danny was very uncomfortable with this conversation, "well…he asked you out again, didn't he?"

Riley rolled her eyes, "ugh, I should ask Sam about these things."

Even though he knew he wanted no part in this conversation, he had to interject, "hey, _you_ asked _me_, remember? Remember whose house you're in before you make eyes at me."

Riley just sighed. There was silence for a long moment.

"So…you're going to eat all these?" Danny asked, gesturing to the kitchen full of pastries.

"Of course not!" Riley huffed, "I'll get all fat!"

"But…I can't eat them."

"Right."

"…why?"

"Because I bake when I'm _nervous_, Danny," she repeated, "these cakes are full of my _stress _and _pain_. They're _pain_ cakes_. You don't eat pain cakes._"

Danny frowned, not quite understanding. There was more silence, and after minutes of thinking, Danny had to speak again.

"Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"…get out of my house."

Riley gave him a betrayed stare, but this time he stayed strong against it. She stomped out the door like a four year old throwing a temper tantrum. After a few seconds of silence, she opened the door again.

"Take the cookies out a 5:15, okay?"

* * *

"Why do I have to talk to her?" Sam asked Danny the next day at school, "I can recall a few times when you guys claimed to know everything about girls."

"Well-" Danny began speaking, but Tucker nudged him mid-sentence.

"Don't say it…" he said, and Danny looked at him as if saying 'I have no choice.'

"-You were right and we were wrong."

A tiny smirk formed on Sam's face, but it flickered away after a moment, "I still don't see why you think something's wrong. She's fourteen and she's getting a little crazy, let her work it out."

"Sam, she was making pain cakes." Sam froze mid-step at Danny's statement, "and we're not allowed to eat them."

"Wow, that is serious…" Sam seemed lost in thought for a moment, "but I'm not good at the whole…_helping_ thing. For some reason people don't like my advice."

"That's because it's often 'you are a bad person and you should feel bad.'" Tucker pointed out. He grunted when her elbow met his stomach.

"_Pleeeeease_, Sam?" Danny looked at her, and Sam realized that he had been preparing his 'Danny is sad' face during his silence. His eyes were even wider than they were normally, and he had a depressed frown. Sam sighed.

"Fine," she huffed, "where is she?"

Tucker's eyes widened as well as he pointed down the hall, "she's in a fight with some girl near her locker."

"I didn't think she was crazy enough to need constant surveillance!" Sam hissed incredulously through gritted teeth.

* * *

Riley had no sooner walked into school when she saw some redheaded girl standing by her locker, glaring daggers at her. Had she made enemies already? No fair! She hadn't been mean to anybody, and she had tried to keep her…annoying-ness as low as possible.

'_Okay, Riley, be nice, just be as unassuming as possible, don't be rude…'_

"Hey, you're blocking my locker." _'That was kind of rude. Way to go.'_

"Yeah, I know. Can we chat?" The girl said haughtily.

"Uh…sure?" Riley tried not to sound too suspicious.

"Okay, I'm gonna put this in terms that I'm sure even _you_ can understand," she continued, "stay away from Seth, okay?"

"Why?" Riley looked like she had just been told Christmas wouldn't come this year.

"_Because_," Riley didn't like the girl's tone, she sounded like she thought she was talking to an idiot, "I have my eye on him."

"…so?"

The girl rolled her eyes, "_so_, I think he might be going out with you because he feels sorry for you anyway, so maybe you should get out before you get hurt."

"Okay, listen, Ginger," Riley had had it with this girl already, "_he _asked _me_ out, okay? Meaning he likes me. Maybe if you have your eyes on him, you should be assertive and ask him." The girl looked affronted, and, if it was possible, her frown grew deeper.

"So why don't you quit blocking my locker, and we can go back to our lives, all right?"

"Why don't you just be assertive and make me?"

"Fine," Riley _knew_ she shouldn't have pushed the girl down, she _knew_ she could have just gotten herself into some serious trouble, but she did it anyway, and it felt kind of good.

Until the girl got back up, then she got kinda scared.

"Don't push me, Matthews," the snotty tone in her voice told Riley who she was - the O'Henessy girl from math. She was still going to call her Ginger, though.

"Oh yeah, what are you gonna do about it?" she hadn't expected to be punched in the face, that was for sure. In a classic cat-fight move, she grabbed the girl's long braid and pulled it as hard as she could-

"Stop it!" she heard another voice, and she felt herself being pulled away from Siobhan be the arms, and then held by the waist. She turned around to see Sam, and she didn't seem very happy at all,.

"The _hell_ do you think you're doing?" The Goth said incredulously. Riley then became conscious of her surroundings again, and felt the rusty taste of blood from her nose slip into her mouth. She avoided Sam's eyes, thinking of an answer. She didn't have one.

"…you mad?"

* * *

Riley looked at the slip of paper in her hand as she sat on a bench in the girl's bathroom, "six weeks of detention? _Seriously?_"

"You're lucky you didn't get suspended," Sam pointed out. She handed Riley another tissue, "tilt your head up or else your nose won't stop bleeding."

Riley did as she said, not wanting to get any more on her bad side than she already was.

"Sam," Riley asked after a moment, her voice nasally as she applied pressure to it, "do you think Seth really likes me? I asked Danny and he didn't help at all."

"You asked Danny for relationship advice?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Momentary lapse in judgment."

"Well, anyway," Sam handed Riley another tissue as she spoke, "we've never actually met Seth, so I don't how you could possibly expect me to know if he likes you or not."

"Oh yeah…" Sam cringed when she saw Riley's face - she was getting an idea. "Hey, how about I introduce you guys? He asked me to go out tonight, you could meet him. How about it?"

Sam really didn't want to. She wasn't good with new people, she didn't like introductions, but she also didn't wasn't a nasal-sounding Riley voice chanting "please please please" for hours and hours.

"…Fine." She was being awfully agreeable today, she better get something out of it later.

* * *

**Admit it, it's kinda creepy how she keeps getting in his house.  
**

**When I'm bored or stressed, I bake and make lollipops. Except they aren't pain cakes filled with angsty teenage tears.**

** Also it's kind of weird to write in a high school setting when I don't go to high school anymore :P**


	8. Chapter 8

**The next few chapters will be slow in coming.**

**Reviewers: what else is new?**

**Shut up.**

**-Phanny**

* * *

"Why are we doing this?" Danny asked Sam the next day, "why would you agree to going to the Nasty Burger just so we can meet Riley's new boyfriend?"

Sam cringed and stopped walking for a moment, and Danny and Tucker frowned.

"Is she having a flashback?" Tucker asked.

"I believe so."

"Okay, we'll wait – she's usually pretty quick about it."

_Sam was surprised to smell sweets when she came home from school that day. Her eyebrow raised, she wandered towards her large kitchen, eyes widening at what she saw._

"_How did you get in my house?" Sam asked Riley, a little freaked out by her presence._

"_Why does everyone ask me that?" Riley murmured, mixing a bowl of some kind of batter Sam couldn't identify._

"_Because you keep getting into people's houses, maybe? Who let you in?" Sam was still eyeing the girl suspiciously._

"_Your mom," Sam's eye twitched, "I told her I was friends with you and she was like 'oh, I'm glad Samantha has other friends besides those boys' and then she let me in. Way easier than getting into Danny's house, I have to give his mom the sad puppy look."_

_Sam narrowed her eyes. _'Well played, mother. Well played.'_ She thought. It took her a moment to realize that Riley was still talking._

"—_and since you promised to help me with Seth, I thought I would make you some sweets!"_

_Whoa, whoa, whoa…promised?_

"_You know, I actually just said 'fine,' I didn't say I promised…" Sam wasn't prepared for the absolutely horrifying heartbroken expression she had ever seen on a teenage girl._

"_But…" Riley began, "I thought we were friends, Sam! I thought you were gonna help me out…"_

'You are not Danny, you will not break…' _Sam told herself silently. Still…_

_Sam never thought of herself as mean. Abrasive? Yes. Mildly unpleasant? Sure. Brutally honest? A perfectly reasonable description. She didn't go out of her way to be mean, no matter what people said. She just tried to be really honest with people when she thought they were awful. _

_She felt her resolve crumbling as she looked at Riley – she was a superhero's sidekick, for crying out loud! She didn't like watching people suffer, no matter how petty she thought the issue was. Riley was really convinced that Sam was her friend – or at least the closest thing she had to one. _

"_I'll stop coming to your house," Riley bribed, and that was all Sam needed._

"She can be persuasive," Sam said simply, continuing on her way with the boys trailing behind.

* * *

Danny stopped in his tracks when they reached the Nasty Burger, looking at Riley's date. It was that same boy who seemed to stare at him when he was invisible – a blank but calculating stare that he was doing at that moment as well. The guy made his skin crawl, but he uncomfortably sat down in the booth with them, avoiding the boy's eyes.

"Hi guys!" Riley said, and Danny, Sam, and tucker covered their ears – she was way too enthusiastic, as usual. "So…this is Seth. Seth, these are my friends."

Danny let out a nervous, "hey" and his friends seemed just as nervous around Seth as he did. They had somewhat of a heightened sense of danger from working with him.

"Nice to meet you," the boy's voice was deeper than Danny expected, it didn't match his appearance, it didn't sound like a freshman's voice. Seth reached out to shake Danny's hand, but not Sam or Tucker's. Danny reluctantly took it, but felt a blue mist rising in his throat, some escaping his mouth. Riley saw this.

"Oh, hey, look over there!" Riley pointed at nothing in particular, "that is so distracting!"

"I don't see anything…" Seth murmured.

"Seriously? It totally makes me want to look over this way and nowhere else!"

'…_she is so bad at this.' _Danny thought, but in the split second that Seth turned his head, Danny, Sam, and Tucker had disappeared.

* * *

Danny felt like he wanted to scream. He had awkwardly gotten out of a group outing to fight a ghost, and he came out to find…_nothing._

_Again._

"I am getting so sick of this," Danny muttered to himself. He floated down to his friends, and his expression told them all they needed to know.

"_Again_?" Tucker asked incredulously.

"Not a friggin' thing!" Danny answered, his eyes narrowed with annoyance.

"Damn it," Sam cursed, "now we have to go back in."

"You guys go," Danny sighed, "I'll look around a bit more."

Sam and Tucker looked like they knew he was trying to weasel out of going back inside, but they didn't say anything. For now.

As soon as the two went back inside, Danny was tackled by a dark form and pinned against the wall of the building. A gray-haired, red-eyed young ghost had him by the shoulders with long, thin arms that were still somehow strong. He looked evil and threatening, but his gaze was not angry or aggressive.

"Danny Phantom," the ghost said, his pale skin and glowing aura making him look even creepier should such a thing be possible, "I require your assistance."

With a shudder, Danny realized he recognized the ghost's voice and hollow gaze, and he was sure that if he went back into the restaurant, he would find that Seth was no longer in there – because he was standing right in front of Danny, he was sure of it.

* * *

**Here is what we have learned:**

**1. One of Riley's few talents happens to be being so pathetic that even Sam feels sorry for her.**

**2. Riley is convinced that she and Sam are BFFs.**

**2b. Sam thinks differently.**

**3. Riley is very bad at distractions ("quick! Look at that distraction!" seriously.)**

**4. It really sucks to be Danny. That could pretty much be the title of this fic.**


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is all talk.**

**No, really. Except for Riley. Magically, she doesn't say anything.**

***Earth explodes***

**-Phanny**

* * *

"I need your assistance" sounded like a simple enough request - much less demanding than the requests/death threats Danny received from other enemies he had met. It almost sounded polite, and part of Danny wanted to just ask this ghost what he wanted and not cause trouble.

Of course, all hope of politeness was dashed when the guy decided to pin Danny to the wall. The fact that Danny responded by kicking the ghost in the chest to knock him backward was enough to establish that the two would not be friends any time soon.

"Nice to meet you too," Danny said dryly, an eyebrow raised as the ghost dusted himself off, "your manners need work - wanna try again?"

"I recall saying I needed your assistance, not your condescension," the ghost glared at him with red eyes, "my name is Samil, and I am not here to fight you, though you seem to be rather confrontational."

"_I'm _confrontational?" Danny said, biting back a string of insults - if this guy wasn't here to fight, Danny wasn't going to push him, "you just pinned me to the wall and growled in my face and _you're_ telling _me_-"

"Danny," Sam gave him a warning look, then glanced at Samil, "what do you want?"

"Access to your ghost portal, nothing more. The natural one through which I came has long since closed, leaving me stranded. That is all."

"You're lying," Danny said after a moment. Samil looked taken aback, "you wouldn't have attacked me if all you wanted to do was go home."

"Any other motive is none of your concern."

"_You _need _my _help, I'm allowed to ask a few questions. You used a friend of mine just to get to me, so I'm kind of pissed." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Riley wrap her arms around herself as though she was cold and look down at her feet in shame.

"I gathered items from your world that I needed to help my father's…research," Danny noticed Samil pause to search for the word, tipping him off to another lie, "now I am done. I have a deadline, and it has long since passed."

"One more try, kid. I asked for the truth, not two-thirds of the truth."

"You cannot possibly tell-"

"Look," this time, it was Tucker who spoke, "we are some of the best damn liars in the state of Illinois. We can totally tell."

Samil bit his lip nervously, and he had never looked more like a not-so-bright teenager trying to pull a fast one than he did right then.

"My father plans to take Pariah Dark's place as ruler of the Ghost Zone," Samil said reluctantly, "I came in hopes of retrieving th Ring of Rage from Vlad Plasmius, which I have done. I must get to the Ghost Zone before he notices that it is gone, and by that time we will have put it to proper use."

Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Riley looked at Samil with wide eyes. Riley didn't even understand most of that, but it sounded bad, so she reacted accordingly.

"Really?" Danny finally said, "you tell us _that_ and you expect us to just let you do it?"

"What happens in the Ghost Zone is none of your concern."

"The hell it isn't!" Danny retorted, "Pariah Dark attacked our town as soon as he woke up, and you just told us that your father is basically going to do the same thing, and now you're telling us that it's _none of our concern?_"

"My father will do no such thing," Samil countered determinedly.

"We've known you for fifteen minutes and you already have an impressive history of lying to us," Sam informed him, "the whole 'take my word for it' attempt isn't going to work."

"My word is all I can give you," Samil sighed, "and it is far from meaningless. I am telling you all I know."

After years of having to look out for unsavory people, Danny felt he could read people pretty well. He studied at Samil for awhile - his expression, his posture, everything - and came to a conclusion that he hadn't exactly expected.

"You don't want this," he stated, "you don't want to go along with this but he's making you."

"You know nothing about me," Samil said defensively, "I was promised a position of power at my father's side-"

"But you don't want it," Sam spoke up, and Danny realized that she and Tucker could see it as well, "you just think you do because that's what he told you."

"And you're afraid of what he'll do if you say anything," Tucker finished.

"Be quiet," Samil was obviously growing upset, and he turned away, "I do not want to hear any more. I will find a way back myself."

"If you want to stop him, we'll help you," Danny said seriously, stopping Samil in his tracks.

"You cannot stop him," Samil didn't turn around, but he didn't go anywhere, "trying would be foolish."

"We stopped Pariah Dark," Danny told him, "and we're all about being foolish. It's sort of how we do things."

Samil almost cracked a smile, but he didn't say anything.

"The point is, if you know this is wrong, then you shouldn't let it happen, and you don't have to," Danny continued when he realized he wouldn't get a response.

"It would be foolish to try," Samil insisted, but when he saw the looks on their faces, he thought harder about it, "but it would be suicide not to. You are all better people than I, and I am sorry to have hurt any of you," he looked at Riley when he said this. He let out a deep sigh before speaking again, "if you are going to try and stop my father, I will help. Though I do not doubt you would attempt with or without me."

"Hey, look at you, catching on already," Danny smirked. He could almost swear Samil did too, but he didn't know for sure.

* * *

**See that? All my happy fun times were ruined by _plot development. _Can you believe that? How could I have let that happen?**


	10. Chapter 10

**I TOLD YOU I WOULD UPDATE**

**-Phanny  
**

* * *

"Do you understand the plan?" Riley looked up from staring at her feet to acknowledge Danny for the first time in awhile. The stood in the basement lab, Sam and Tucker gathering up weapons they could easily bring with them well Samil floated off awkwardly to the side, looking deep in thought.

"I just think-" Riley began. Danny held up a hand to stop her.

"Do you understand the plan?" He asked again, his tone a little more authoritative.

"Yes," Riley sighed, "you take Sam and Tucker into the Ghost Zone, and go and fight evil and junk, and if you call on the Fenton Phones for help, I call Jazz and she takes the Specter Speeder to do…some other stuff that I don't get to know about. And I do nothing."

"It's for your own good, all right? You're not prepared for something like this. I don't want you to get hurt."

"But this whole thing is all my fault, I think I should-"

"It is _not_ all your fault," Danny told her, "you heard him - if he didn't get to you he would have found some other way to do it. It was going to happen anyway."

"I am sorry to interrupt, but it is best if we go now," Samil spoke up at last.

"Right," Danny walked toward the portal, turning back to Riley for a moment, "if we call, tell Jazz. You stay here." He grabbed Sam and Tucker, flying into the portal with them to leave the Speeder behind.

Riley stood there, staring at the portal for a few moments after they were gone.

"I just wanna help…" she muttered before going up the stairs.

* * *

It had been a day since they left. They hadn't called in - Riley was sure, she had been wearing the Fenton Phones 24/7, and she hadn't slept the night before for fear of missing something. It hadn't done her much good, seeing as her head was now resting rather uncomfortably on a shelf in her locker in a half-sleep state that she probably wouldn't be getting out of any time soon…

"Hey Riley," Xander recoiled when the girl squealed in surprise and hit her head as a result of being startled by his presence, "uhm, Sorry…I didn't know you were…sleeping."

"Yeah, well, I shouldn't be…is school over yet?" She moaned. She wanted to go home…

"It hasn't even started," Xander told her, regretting it when he saw the way her face fell, "are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I guess…" Riley trailed off when she heard static in hear Fenton Phone.

"_Hey, now would be a _really _good time to call Jazz. Can you do that?" _

Riley just nodded, even though she knew Danny couldn't see her she didn't want to talk to herself in front of Xander.

Jazz had graduated Casper High the previous spring and was now at a nearby university. Riley pulled out her cell phone and tried to call her.

"Excuse me for a second," she told Xander before turning away, "please answer…please…why aren't you answering…come, Jazz…" Dang it, it was a _college_, she was _probably _in class…

"Hey Danny?" She pulled the tiny mic on her earpiece closer to her mouth.

"_Yeah?"_

"Did you let Jazz know to stay out of class so I could reach her?"

The silence she received was telling.

"_I knew I forgot something…"_

"I'll figure something out," Riley said determinedly.

"_Wait, what does that mean? Riley, do _not-_"_

Riley ended their communication quickly and turned back around to find Xander staring at her quizzically.

"You're probably wondering what just happened, huh?" She asked.

"Yeah, a little."

"Well, I don't know, but I need to go do something like, super important-"

"Hey Matthews," Siobhan's voice rang from behind her, and she involuntarily cringed, "you seen Seth?"

"Uh, not recently…" she lied. There was no way Siobhan would figure that out, though, so-

"You're lying."

Dang it!

"I am not!" Riley lied again, rather indignantly. How dare this girl accuse her of things she had obviously done! "I don't have time to fight over a boy, I need to go, now let me!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Siobhan grabbed her hand to hold her back.

"I am, and if you won't let go then I guess you'll just have to come too." With an unusual burst of strength that she _really _wished she had possessed a long time ago, she ran, pulling Siobhan like a dead weight because the girl wouldn't let go of her hand. When Riley was outside the school, she noticed Xander had followed them.

"…I wanted to be included," he shrugged sheepishly.

"I know the feeling. Come on, I might need your help anyway." For once, Riley actually had a sort of half-formed plan. And she knew that it was going to take more than just her to carry it out.

Danny was going to _kill _her for this.

* * *

**Maybe not _kill_. Just like...maim.**

**Riley seems a lot less stupid in this chapter. Maybe it's because she's not as cheerful. She tends to be more insightful when she's unhappy.**

**I wanted to write Xander some more.  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm gonna be honest with you - I've had this done for almost two weeks. Not much happens in it so I wanted to not put it up until I had at least half of the next chapter done. Which I do. So here you go.**

**-Phanny  
**

* * *

"You still haven't told us what we're doing," Siobhan said as she was dragged down the street. She was being forced to go to an unknown place with a girl she didn't like at a time when she was _supposed _to be in school, needless to say she was a little ornery.

"I'm not sure myself, but we have to get to FentonWorks now right now immediately so _hurry up_," Riley said, her green eyes narrowed determinedly.

"You're pulling my arm out of its socket!"

"That means you're not moving fast enough!"

"I thought this was going to get me out of exercising by making me miss gym," Xander panted as he ran beside them. They seemed to be a bit busy with their bickering, so he continued on silently.

"We're here!" Riley grabbed a key from seemingly out of nowhere and opened the door and walked in, and after a moment she called back to them "no one's home so come in!"

Both teens followed the other girl into the house, looking at her quizzically.

"Why do you have a key to this place?" Xander asked.

"I had one made," Riley said simply, walking down to the lab while the other two followed hesitantly.

Siobhan looked slightly disturbed, "do they _know _you had it made?"

"Probably not."

"That's a little creepy, Riley."

"Yeah, I know…" Riley admitted, "hey, can either of you drive?"

"No," Xander said, then after a moment he continued, "well…not _legally._ I know how to drive, but I don't have a license."

"Why do you know how to drive without a license?" Siobhan asked, but Riley didn't let him answer.

"Doesn't matter, you don't need one - see this thing?" Riley gestured to the Specter Speeder, "we need to put all of those weapons into it." As she spoke she pointed to various weapons around the lab.

"Well, all right…" Xander hesitantly picked up an ecto-gun carefully.

"Wait, there's more," Riley continued, "once we have all that stuff in the thing, we need to go into _that._" She pointed to the Ghost Portal, and Siobhan blanched.

"Oh no," she said, "oh no, I am _not _just climbing into a big metal floating car and letting you take me into that green swirly thing. No. Are you _nuts_?"

"Kinda," Riley shrugged, helping Xander to pile stuff into the Speeder. Siobhan stared at him.

"You're going along with this?"

"Designated driver."

"_Oh my god_, you people are insane-"

"Would you _shut up_?" Riley's voice was unusually harsh and urgent, it took Siobhan by surprise, "I don't have time to listen to you complain! My friends need help, you can either come or you can leave."

Siobhan knew that she should leave, but her pride had been hurt enough already, she wasn't just going to walk out. She begrudgingly picked up a weapon she couldn't identify and was slightly afraid of and loaded into the Speeder.

"All right, that should be good. Xander, into the driver's seat you go."

"All right," Xander sounded hesitant, "I need you guys to know, I once wrecked my sister's car."

"What?" Both girls asked him, suddenly frightened.

"Nothing! Let's go!" Xander did his best to figure out the controls, but they ended up moving forward at a blinding pace anyway before he found the brakes.

"Okay, Riley, where to?"

Riley looked around wide-eyed at the swirling green expanse outside the windows and paled.

"Uhm…I don't really know…"

Her companions paled right along with her.

"_WHAT_?"

* * *

Azazel couldn't remember being as angry as he was right then. His son had betrayed him, he had brought Phantom and his companions to his domain with an intent to stop him. The boy he had raised had committed treason even before his kingdom was complete! He could not allow this. He wasn't. He sent armies of his skeleton guards, but it was lucky that they were expendable pawns - this little "resistance" was tearing through them like tissue. They were getting closer to his fortress. Too close. He knew that his son had the Dagger of Fate in his possession, and thus a danger to himself and others. The Dagger of Fate was the only tool in existence that could assist a ghost in ending its own existence, permanently. He could not let it be used.

He didn't even have a kingdom yet, and he was already at war. This had to be some sort of record.

* * *

If Danny were to describe his emotions right then he would say half angry and half scared out of his mind.

Part of him was scared because Riley wasn't answering him anymore, and the rest was angry because he just _knew _that the reason was because she was doing something that she knew he wouldn't like.

Of course, part of his mind was dedicated to the fact that he and his friends were finishing off the last of several easy-to-defeat skeleton minions, and Samil was about to get them into the fortress.

The sound of an engine and a crash followed by metal grinding across stone was what made Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Samil turn around. The sight of the Specter Speeder on the ground in front of them is what made Danny's eyes widen, and his though process seemed to have it's priorities in order, at least, as _'I hope no one is hurt' _was quickly followed by _'my parents are going to kill me.'_

When Riley stepped out, his emotions were torn again, especially she looked genuinely apologetic when she stared at him.

"Now, I know this looks bad, but I know a guy who could fix this and it was Xander's fault anyway."

"Way to sell me out, Ri!" Was heard from the front of the vehicle.

"Danny Phantom is mad at me right now, okay? I'm not thinking clearly!"

"Obviously or you wouldn't have let him drive!" Yet another voice came from the crashed Speeder, and Danny looked about ready to pull his hair out.

"Sorry for wrecking your car Mr. Phantom Sir!" A blond, bespectacled boy step out from the dented machine, followed by an annoyed looking redhead, "she told me to!"

"I didn't tell you to wreck it! You said you were a good driver!" Riley said quickly.

"No, I said I _could_ drive!"

"Well you sure can't _stop!_"

"Shut up!" Danny finally said to the three bickering teens in front of him. "I don't care about the Specter Speeder, Riley _what are you doing here_?"

"Well I tried to reach Jazz but I couldn't so I thought I could come I brought all the weapons I could find and these two came along and you said you needed help so I couldn't just leave you even if I can't do much I have new weapons I promise none of them are broken please don't be mad at me!" Riley's green eyes were wide and she bit her lip nervously.

"Ugh…" Danny couldn't find the words to describe what he was feeling. He was glad she was okay but he was _furious _that she had come after he thought he had made it perfectly clear she wasn't supposed to, _and _she brought other kids who knew even less about ghost fighting that she did, and even if they _did _need new weapons, he really had no way to get them all home in the end. "Just…yes, we could use new weapons but…how am I supposed to get you all home and couldn't you have maybe tried to reach Jazz again?"

"I did try but I couldn't-"

"Excuse me," Samil interrupted, "I think we should get going as soon as possible. Just my opinion."

"It's a good opinion. You're right," Danny looked at Sam and Tucker, who had discreetly reloaded or replaced the weapons they had while he was lecturing, and they nodded and Samil opened the main door to Azazel's fortress. Danny turned back for one moment to speak.

"_Stay here. _I'll deal with you later," he said with a seriousness that made Riley sure that she was in trouble.

"Oh boy…"

* * *

"Uhm, Danny Phantom told us to stay put, remember?" Siobhan said, her words going ignored by her two companions, who were digging weapons out of the wrecked Specter Speeder.

"I think I know him a little better than you, so I know his orders can be taken loosely." Riley said as she examined an fairly impressive ecto-gun closely.

"Which reminds me, how _do _you know the Ghost Boy?" Siobhan asked.

Riley paused, trying to think.

"He saves me a lot. We're tight," she answered vaguely.

"That's so cool," Xander said. He handed a gun to Siobhan, "come on, we're not staying out here all alone without any means of self-defense."

"We're not staying out here at all," Riley stood up, mimicking the way she had seen Sam hold her gun earlier, "we're going in."

"What?" Siobhan's fair skin went three shades paler at the thought, "oh no, we have no idea what's in there, we could _die._"

"Come _on_," Riley told her, we need to help. Xander, you're coming, right?"

"I…uh…" Xander looked at Riley's wide green eyes and her nervous expression, "uhm…sure…"

"Yay!" She hugged him and then dragged him towards the fortress, leaving Siobhan to follow.

"Whipped…" the redhead muttered, reluctantly following.

* * *

**Xander needs lessons.**

**And a shield against the puppy dog pout.  
**


End file.
